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Former Greens Leader and Senator for Victoria Dr Richard Di Natale will deliver his valedictory speech to the Senate this afternoon by remote video link. He will highlight serious failings in Australian politics to deal with the issues Australian people care about and outline a prescription to rejuvenate our democracy.
After 10 years in the Australian Senate, and five as Leader of the Greens, Richard Di Natale today makes his final speech to the chamber from locked-down Melbourne. The former doctor will diagnose the last decade of Australian politics as captured by vested interests and failing to address the major issues faced by our nation.
“I got into politics because, as a doctor – especially in First Nations health – I saw that the political decisions being made were the decisions that most affected people’s lives, and I wanted to make a difference. It was a wakeup call for me to see that the influence of money and vested interests are so strong in our politics.” Dr Di Natale said
“Our parliament has failed the Australian people over the last decade. Climate action is the biggest example of how the nation has been let down.
“Ten years ago, in balance-of-power, the Australian Greens worked to ensure the introduction of world-leading climate laws, with the Greens leading the debate on the issues that truly matter to our nation’s future including; climate action, democratic and political donation reforms; anti-corruption measures; a meaningful social safety-net and addressing inequality.
In the depths of the crisis, Dr Di Natale will point to COVID-19 as a glimmer of hope for Australian politics – with political maneuvering largely taking a back-seat to expert advice in determining the policy response.
“COVID-19  has shown up the cracks in our society. Inequality is running rife and the virus exploiting our vulnerabilities but has also provided an opportunity for real change. If we listen to experts rather than vested interests – in health, in climate change, in economics – we can build a better society. .
“COVID has provided a clear example that bold action is possible from any government. We can make good policy and deliver good outcomes by listening to the experts and working cooperatively. This should be standard operating procedure for Australian politics. It shouldn’t have taken a pandemic to teach us this.
“We must strengthen our democracy by opening our parliament to a greater diversity of voices and ending the influence of corporations and lobbyists over our politicians.   We must reject the  politics of hatred and division fuelled by parties like One Nation, and too often endorsed by other politicians and parts of the media.
“Despite the setbacks of the past decade I leave politics feeling confident about the future.
Young people around the world are mobilising and social movements are gathering steam. The Greens are strong and resilient. We have the support of millions of Australians and we are the only party with genuine solutions to today’s problems,” Senator Di Natale concluded.

The Greens are calling on the Prime Minister to stand down Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar while the Department of Finance investigates the misuse of taxpayer-funded positions, and to consider whether Sukkar’s actions are in breach of the Ministerial Standards.
“The Prime Minister has asked Australians for their trust over the past few months. But Morrison continues to throw integrity overboard with his failure to act on the ongoing, multiple scandals involving his ministers,” Greens co-Deputy leader, Senator Larissa Waters, said.
“It’s a case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’, with Morrison. He jumped on the chance to smear Labor during its branch stacking scandal a few months ago, but deflects all responsibility when its his own frontbenchers making headlines.
Senator Waters, Greens spokesperson for Democracy, said the latest branch stacking scandal was further proof of why the Greens’ National Integrity Commission Bill is needed, which passed the Senate almost a year ago.
“The public generally thinks politicians are all corrupt, in it for themselves, and behave like pork chops in parliament, and I don’t blame them,” Senator Waters said.
“We are still waiting for the Prime Minister to call my federal watchdog with teeth on for a vote in the House of Representatives, almost a year after the Senate passed it. The government hasn’t introduced its own legislation.  And it has rejected the Greens’ calls for a code of conduct for all politicians and senior staff to prevent exactly the sort of behaviour we’ve seen reported this week.
“To Morrison, I say: tick tock. I’m not the only one getting fed up with your delaying tactics.”

The Australian Greens have called on the Berejiklian Government to reject the Mark Latham-led push for uranium mining in NSW.
“The Liberals should stop dancing to One Nation’s tune and reject the push for uranium mining in NSW,” said Greens Leader, Adam Bandt.
“The case for lifting the ban on uranium mining in NSW didn’t stand up to 5 minutes of scrutiny from Fran Kelly this morning. NSW Minerals Council CEO, Stephen Galilee, had no answer to basic economic questions.”
“When it comes to uranium mining, the big issues are environmental, but the economics don’t stack up either. Extraction is emissions intensive, local land and water impacts are incredibly risky and waste products are a shameful legacy.
“The economics should be the final nail in the coffin for uranium, even for those who have no concern for the environment. Global prices remain very low, years after the Fukushima disaster. Adding more uranium to an oversupplied market would only push that price lower, which would probably not be welcomed by other Australian miners.
“The reason the price is dropping is that nuclear power is the most expensive and inflexible energy source there is. Country after country is getting out of nuclear and investing in renewables. That’s the future and state and federal governments need to face the facts.
“NSW should reject this push and Australia should get out of uranium altogether,” Bandt said.
Greens nuclear disarmament spokesperson, Senator Jordon Steele-John said:
“Australia has a nuclear history; from the atomic testing on behalf of the British Government at Maralinga that displaced our First Nations Peoples, to the ongoing mining at Ranger in the Northern Territory, and Olympic Dam and Beverley in South Australia.
“We have played, and continue to play, a role in the global nuclear chain and that is not something to be proud of.
“It’s time for us to get out of uranium all together; it’s time for us to sign the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and strive for peace.”

GPs and other health professionals in four regions will receive greater support to enable them to provide more effective care to people with intellectual disability.
The Morrison Government will provide a total of $5.75 million to four Primary Health Networks to lead development of the Primary Care Enhancement Program for people with intellectual disability.
Central and Eastern Sydney PHN, Western Victoria PHN, Central Queensland, Wide Bay, Sunshine Coast PHN, and Tasmania PHN, were selected to spearhead the enhancement program over four years, with a view to national rollout.
It will give people with intellectual disability better access to appropriate, quality health services that meet their needs. The four lead PHNs will:

• Support health professionals in caring for people with intellectual disability.

• Facilitate access to appropriate, quality health services for people with intellectual disability.

• Promote take-up and quality of annual Medicare health assessments for people with intellectual disability.

• Help to ensure people with intellectual disability have equitable access to quality health prevention and health promotion programs.

• Ensure all of their programs are inclusive for people with intellectual disability.

The Council for Intellectual Disability will be a key partner with the Government as the Primary Care Enhancement Program is developed and rolled out.
National resources for the program will be developed over the next two years, including a training module for PHN staff, resources for GPs and other primary care professionals, National Disability Insurance Scheme linkage tools, and health promotion materials for people with intellectual disability and their families.
The Primary Care Enhancement Program was established following a roundtable in August 2019, which considered the inequities in health system access and quality for people with intellectual disability.
The Morrison Government is also developing a national roadmap with short, medium and long-term priorities to improve health services for people with intellectual disability. The roadmap will guide the better integration of primary care with specialist and hospital care.
It will also aim to increase recognition in the health sector and the community that people living with intellectual disability have the right to the same quality and access to health services as other Australians.
A series of further roundtables with a range of key stakeholders, including states and territories, will be held from October 2020 to complete development of the roadmap, for consideration by the Government.
More information about the roadmap is available at information about the Roadmap or via www.health.gov.au

The Morrison Government has announced a $1 billion investment package to boost Australia’s defence industry and support thousands of jobs across the country.
The package is directed towards nationwide projects and jobs across Australia including:

• Increasing the employment of ADF Reservists who have lost their civilian income, with an allocation of up to an extra 210,000 days, and the targeted recruitment of an additional 500 ADF Reservists;
• Increasing employment opportunities for current and former ADF personnel and their families;
• A $300 million national estate works program that will focus on regional areas (including bushfire affected regions), such as Jervis Bay & Eden, RAAF Bases East Sale, Pearce, Wagga and Amberley, the Albury Wodonga Military Area and Blamey Barracks;
• Accelerating the sustainment of ADF platforms and capabilities, including the upgrade of Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles, modernisation of ADF uniforms; and additional C-27J maintenance, which will engage ex-Qantas and Virgin technicians;
• Bringing forward around $190 million of investment in approved infrastructure projects in the Northern Territory;
• Increased funding for Defence innovation, industry grants, skilling and micro credentialing and cyber training for Defence industry; and
• Accelerating important ADF capability development projects, targeting key manufacturing, construction and high-tech sectors.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the package is estimated to support around 4,000 jobs across Australia and help many small and medium sized businesses in the defence-industry supply chain.
“Like much of the economy, our local defence industry is doing it tough because of COVID-19. This is especially so for small and medium sized businesses, that are critical to jobs,” Prime Minister Morrison said.
“Supporting our defence industry is all part of our JobMaker plan – especially high-paying, high-skilled jobs that ensure we are supporting a robust, resilient and internationally competitive defence industry. We want to build our sovereign industrial capabilities and Australian workforce to keep our people safe.”
“We will also support our ADF members and families, particularly any Reservists who are doing it tough because of COVID-19.”
The announcement was made at Canberra-based company, DATAPOD (Australia), which has been awarded a two-year, $20 million contract.
The Australian owned company will provide Defence with portable, containerised data systems which can be rapidly deployed by sea, air or road. By bringing forward this acquisition, we will help to protect up to 27 direct and up to 80 supply chain jobs.
Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC said supporting Australian defence industry is crucial to the economy’s recovery.
“Already we’ve fast-tracked a range of capability, infrastructure, skilling and workforce initiatives over the next two years. This includes rolling out a number of Defence estate works tenders as part of Defence’s economic stimulus initiative package, that will run over the 2020-21 and 2021-22 financial years,” Minister Reynolds said.
“Over $11 billion has already been provided in early payment for invoices and work to improve or sustain industry capacity for the delivery of critical supplies.”
“We’re getting on with the job of delivering critical capability outcomes to Army, Air Force and Navy, as well as continuing to support our personnel, including ADF Reserve members.”
Defence will retain a great level of agility to phase and adjust expenditure of the initiatives to ensure they are affordable and remain suitable over the next two years.
Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said it’s now more important than ever to back Australian businesses and create more Australian jobs.
“We want to ensure defence industry continues to provide vital supply chains to develop and maintain defence capabilities, as we look at opportunities to accelerate projects across Australia,” Minister Price said.
“These projects will support and grow the 70,000-strong workforce in defence industry supply chains and those benefiting from our investment in defence.
“We are committed to supporting small and medium sized enterprises across Australian defence industry, with programs that will support regional areas, including bushfire affected communities.”
Further details of individual initiatives will be approved and announced shortly. Further information regarding Defence’s response to COVID-19 in supporting defence industry can be accessed at: https://www.defence.gov.au/covid-19/defence-industry/